Thrills, Chills and Kills
by Jyira Keller
Summary: Mysterious new guy turns Gothic girl's life upside down. Good thing or bad? That's what she wants to know.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: All night World ideas belong to LJS, Topaz Wolf, Seraphin Dawson, Harmony Silverthorne, Zeke Blackthorn, Trinity-Harman-Redfern, Monica Stephens and anyone else you don't recognise belong to me. Please ask if you wish to use them.   
  
  
Part 1  
  
Rain poured outside, dull, bleak and miserable, just like my life. I sat in class, absently doodling on my notebook, rather than paying attention to the lecture. I sat alone in a back corner, none of the other kids would so much as glance at me. It was unfair. Just because I looked a little different I was immediately branded an outcast.   
  
My hair was long and jet black, streaked with red and purple. I wore a lot of silver jewellery, and a thin black top, with filmy sleeves, a short leather skirt and Dr. Marten boots with purple laces my sister had picked up for me on a trip to England over the summer. My nails were short and stubby, right now painted dark blue, and flaking. My attempt at a Gothic look seemed to have failed.  
  
No matter how hard I tried to fit in, everything seemed to backfire in my face. There was always something I got wrong. I longed for some sort of excitement. Denver was so dull. At least, I thought it was anyway.   
  
I tried to ignore the giggles I could hear behind me, coming from Topaz Wolf and Harmony Silverthorne, the popular girls. I toyed with a silver pen I held in my hand. The pen was slender and shiny, and right now, the tip was out, ready for me to write with, but I wasn't thinking about writing with the pen. I was thinking of jamming it into Topaz's gem-like eyes. How unfair that she was so damn perfect.   
  
Topaz is tall, dark and mysterious. She never wears anything but black. Her clothes seem to emphasize her darkness, showing off how unnaturally slender she is. Her hair is black, but so black it reflects like a crow's wing. Her skin is lily-pale, and perfect, with not a flaw in it. She makes me feel so inadequate. She makes me feel stupid. Harmony has a similar Goth look, her hair is silver, and her makeup is always colourful and sparkly. Her clothes can sometimes get quite outrageous. The Goth look seems to be the in-thing for those two, but nobody else but me dares to attempt.   
  
They're only fairly new here, too. Topaz came first, at the end of the junior year, which seems a pretty strange time to start a new school, and then Harmony came when the senior year started.   
  
And things have been different since then. Before, people generally tended to accept me. They didn't back away from me or anything, there were one or two other Goths around. But now if anyone tries it, they get accused of copying the popular girls.   
  
Which I think if really unfair and stupid. So what if you have similar taste in clothes? Clothes and appearance aren't everything. But unfortunately, if you want to get ahead in high school, they are.   
  
"Class, we have a new student joining us today."  
  
The teacher finally said something to catch my attention. A new boy had just come in the door. He looked a little sullen. He was tall and impressive, dark and mysterious. His hair was black and long and stringy, he wore a Smashing Pumpkins sweater dark jeans and Dr. Marten boots too. He had taste. I had to give him that. His eyes were a murky, dark green. He seemed remote and unfriendly.   
  
But he looked at me then, and his eyes met mine, and in that instant I had a feeling something big was going to happen. What, I had no idea, all I knew was that things were going to change.  
  
And maybe not pleasantly.  
  
* * *  
  



	2. part 2

Thanks to angelic angel and tigertiger for reviewing   
  
  
Part 2  
  
The teacher was looking around too, and nodded over to the empty seat beside me. "Go sit over there by Seraphin."  
  
He came and sat down, not even glancing at me. I saw Topaz giving him one of her most alluring smiles, but he wasn't paying attention to her either. Maybe he wasn't so bad then. Something seemed to radiate from him.   
  
I wasn't sure what it was. It was a feeling I couldn't describe. I'd never met anyone who gave off such strong signals before. But it didn't necessarily mean good signals.   
  
Topaz was leaning forward, midnight hair spilling over her shoulders. "So what's your name then?" Her voice was deep for a girl's. And yet it seemed to get everyone's attention. If Topaz had something to say, everyone listened.   
  
He glanced at her once, and his eyebrow raised, as if in something like recognition. She smiled. He didn't. I was trying very hard not to snicker. Topaz gave me a withering glare, but I didn't care. "Zeke Blackthorn," he said finally.   
  
"That's unusual."  
  
He just shrugged. This guy wasn't much on conversation. The bell rang then and everyone stood up. Topaz was taking her time gathering her books, making her movements graceful and deliberate. Zeke was obviously not impressed. He snorted and turned away.   
I left the room, wondering about this mystery guy. He hadn't even glanced at me. And yet why did I feel so strange? In English next, he was beside me again. And then again in maths before lunch. This was getting very weird. But this time, he actually spoke to me.   
  
"Is this just a bizarre coincidence or something?"  
  
I turned "I don't know." I was usually shy around people, especially boys, and especially gorgeous ones like him. "Maybe you have the same schedule as me or something." He pulled a folded piece of paper out his pocket. I leaned over his shoulder and studied it. It was uncanny. His classes almost matched mine exactly, there were one or two exceptions.   
  
"Wow, that's so weird. Maybe they decided to pair you up with an existing student or something."  
  
"Maybe." He shrugged. "Why you? Are you a straight A student or something?"  
  
I snorted. "Hardly." I realised he didn't know my name. I managed a shy smile. "Uh, hi, I'm Seraphin."   
  
He smiled then, a real smile, and I tried my hardest not to melt at his feet. "Zeke Blackthorn. Nice to meet someone who isn't trying to be overtly flirty or impressive."   
  
I wasn't sure how I was supposed to take that, but I just let it slide. "I guess Topaz has latched onto you, huh?"  
  
The lunch bell rang then and we left the room. He didn't say goodbye and disappear into the gathering crowd at the door, instead he walked with me as I headed to the cafeteria. I could see Topaz looking daggers at me. Zeke smiled at her and waved, deliberately trying to piss her off. I decided then I really liked him.   
  
How was I supposed to know it might have been the biggest mistake of my life?  
  
* * *  
  



	3. part 3

Part 3  
  
For the next two weeks, my life seemed to suddenly. Zeke was becoming my best friend, I could talk to him about anything and everything. He didn't talk a lot, he just listened, he was kind of remote, but it didn't bother me in the slightest. I knew he liked me.   
  
The feelings I'd had when we first met, the bad feelings that something was going to happen, they were still there, hovering about the back of my mind. I wasn't sure as to what they were, or whether or not they would come true, but I wasn't concerned. Until we got our groups for our history project.  
  
We were supposed to pick an era in time, do some research on it, and then present that research as a group. And I found myself thrown in with Zeke and Topaz.   
  
Topaz was not happy about this at all, and took complete control of everything. She had never forgive me for the fact that Zeke liked me, not her.   
  
After two days into the research, I was ready to kill her. We were sitting in the library, trying to pick to pick a subject to work on. I wanted to do Ancient Egypt, the period had always fascinated me, I can't really say why, it just did. Topaz wanted to do the Aztecs and the Mayans, a horrifically violent ancient cult. Some of their customs made me shudder just thinking about them.   
  
The pictures in the books Topaz had found were making me sick. I couldn't help a shiver.   
  
Topaz noticed, snorting. "Oh grow up," she snapped. "It's not like they're still around today. Some of these are no worse than say - mummification."   
  
"People were already dead when they were mummified," I pointed out.   
  
"Not necessarily," Topaz said in a sing-songy sort of voice, inspecting long purple nails. "Sometimes they did it alive for a punishment." Her smile said she didn't really disapprove.  
  
Unable to take anymore of her bitchiness, I gathered my books and stormed off. The hell with her. I was half way out the library when I realises Zeke was following.   
  
"Seraphin wait," he called. I walked on, ignoring him. I was royally pissed off and not in the mood for polite small talk, and how Topaz didn't mean the things she said. Despite how he tried to hide it, I knew that somehow or other, he knew her. And she still wouldn't lay off him.   
  
"Don't start," I muttered. "I don't need to hear any bullshit about how she doesn't meant it and all."  
  
"That's not what I was going to say."  
  
I continued moving on, ignoring him. School had ended a long time ago, the hallways were all deserted, the after school clubs all finished. Dark shadows were everywhere, and it seemed somewhat...eerie.   
  
"Seraphin." Zeke had somehow managed to get in front of me, forcing me to stop. I wasn't sure how he had done it, the movement had been too fast for me to see. I had been going pretty quickly. And...  
  
I just stood there, glaring at him. It wasn't his fault I was upset, but I was angry enough to be pissed at anyone right now. Before I could open my mouth, he grabbed my shoulders, pulled me close, and kissed me.   
  
I melted. I had never experienced anything like it before. Okay, it was the first time I'd gotten to first base with a guy, but...but this was...  
  
It was amazing. A white light of some sort was filling me, seeming to be drawing us closer, something was happening inside my head, my mind...I was being almost drawn into his...  
  
But before I could go in any deeper, he pulled back, looking alarmed and surprised. I was confused. "It was...bad?"  
  
"No, no, good kiss, it was a good kiss." He shook his head, seeming baffled. He wasn't the only one. "Situation bad. Situation very, very bad."  
  
"Bad? Why? What's going on?"  
  
He shook his head again. "I...I'll see you later." And he was off. I stood there confused, still amazed at how fast he could move. Something was going on here.   
  
Again all my old suspicions were resurfacing. The suspicions that this guy was different, and things were going to change. And...  
  
And what?  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Part 4

Author's notes: the fic is actually completed, it's just taking a little longer than I thought to post it. It depends how often I can get to an Internet connected computer. Please be patient with me. All parts WILL be posted.  
  
Part 4  
  
Zeke didn't know what he was doing, he hated himself for hurting Seraphin's feelings by just walking away and leaving her...but...  
  
He had always assumed the soulmate principal was just a load of soppy crap the Daybreaks liked to blab about. But...the mind link thing...it had happened. It was true then.  
  
Seraphin was his soulmate. He had to admit he'd known there was something about her the minute he'd laid eyes on her that first day. Her Gothic look had been very attractive, he couldn't understand why people would want Topaz rather than her.   
  
Of course, if Topaz knew about this, she'd be even more furious than she was already. His fling with her had ended a century ago. He'd had no idea she'd be here, in Denver right now.   
  
He wasn't exactly sure why he'd decided to start high school again in Denver. But...it had seemed almost like a compulsion to come here, something drawing him here. What, he'd had no idea.   
  
He seemed to have settled in pretty well, Seraphin still fascinated him. He smiled, thinking of her, her dark locks, so soft, her features, so perfect. In his opinion, she was more beautiful than Topaz would ever be.  
  
Topaz had just been a fling, she was a Wolf, a Night World species he'd never tried before. He'd had allsorts of girls, panther shifters, coyote shifters, even a girl who was a snake shifter. Witches, and other vampires...never a Wolf or a werewolf.   
  
Topaz had been new at the time, and fun, and had seemed mysterious and attractive...before he'd found out how much of a bitch she was, and had given up with her. For some reason, she had never been able to let go. She'd been hounding him ever since.   
  
For the past twenty years or so, he'd managed to avoid her, hiding in small towns, Night World enclaves...  
  
And then for some reason, he'd decided to venture out into the world and try high school. He'd never really been fond of school before, but, one advantages was, high school was full of people.  
  
Zeke couldn't help smiling a nasty smile. Full of meals. Human girls were so easy to seduce. And then Seraphin had come along, and for some reason, he'd decided to pay attention to what was happening around him, rather than think about himself and his own needs and pleasure.   
  
He hadn't told her about himself, or about the Night World. He knew she could sense something different about him, but that didn't matter. There was no way he had planned on telling her the truth.   
  
He'd been planning on leading her along for a while, and feeding on her over a period of time, that way her death would be slow and sweet. But the attraction he'd felt for her made him reconsider. The more he got to know her, the more he found himself falling in love with her.   
  
Love...oh god. Love was a pain. But he hadn't been able to help himself this time. He was in love with Seraphin, she was his soulmate, and he was going to break all the rules that had been ingrained into him since birth.  
  
He opened the door to his apartment, and found Topaz sitting on his couch, waiting for him.   
  
This couldn't mean anything good.   
  
"What do you want?" he said bluntly.   
  
"You're insane, you know that?" she answered, a scowl darkening her pretty features.   
  
"Don't frown, you might get wrinkles," he said whimsically, moving to close the door. She slapped him. The force of the blow was strong, especially for a girl. Strong enough to send him staggering back. She smiled a little at the stunned look on his face.   
  
"You can't love her, you know."  
  
Zeke scrambled to his feet, his murky eyes blazing with fury. "How did you - "  
  
Topaz gave him an alluring smile. "You're lousy and shielding your mind, you know that?"   
  
Zeke just stared, for once completely at a loss for words. Was there nothing he could do to be rid of her. Well, there was the obvious...  
  
"Don't go there," she said. "You really don't want to know who I can call if I feel threatened."  
  
"And you don't want to know what *I'll* do to you if you harm a single hair on her head," he hissed.   
  
She laughed, completely unaffected. "Ooh, Zeke getting in touch with his old bad self. That's more like it. She's human, you know."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So you're breaking the law."  
  
"Your point?"  
  
Topaz moved forward, so close he could feel her breath on his face. "So, you know what happens when you break the law."  
And with that, she left. Despite any sort of threats he made, and whether he carried them out or not, she would kill Seraphin in a second. She didn't even need to be in the room to do it. He knew her witch talents, stronger than any Midnight witch he'd ever met.   
  
Seraphin was doomed.   
  
* * *  
  
Topaz was annoyed. What the hell was wrong with Zeke? She was well aware he was a ladies man,. Very flirty, always hitting on girl after girl. But a human? It was just absurd. They should be together. He was gorgeous and powerful, as was she.  
  
What did Seraphin have that she didn't? The girl had nothing! Nothing! No powers, no looks, no personality, at least not in Topaz's views. She had no particular talents either.   
  
Her mind was about as blank as a brook wall, and just as thick, easy to get around, easy to see what the little dummy was thinking. Bitch. How dare she infringe on Topaz's love life like this.  
  
For the project, despite the fact that Seraphin was obviously a wuss and hated the Aztecs, she seemed to have taken over the bulk of the work, and that obviously impressed Zeke.  
  
Well, Topaz's dark lips curved. As far as she was concerned, there was only one way to deal with Seraphin.   
  
Kill her.   
  
The only solution. No Seraphin, no fixation for Zeke. Zeke would be morning, and need comfort. Topaz was beginning to get the uncomfortable feeling that Seraphin Zeke were maybe more than just friends.   
  
Naughty little Zeke. Loving a human was against the rules. The Council should know about this, and she wasn't just going to inform the Blackthorn branch of the council. She was going right the way up.   
  
She spied Seraphin walked down the hall, and fell into step with her. "I think we should talk."  
  
"Maybe I don't want to talk to you." For such a small girl she had a big mouth.   
  
Topaz grabbed her arm and jerked her into a dark corner beneath the stairs. Her amber eyes were blazing, but they seemed to be having no effect on Seraphin. She looked completely unimpressed and rather annoyed.   
  
Which made Topaz even more angry. "You don't know what you're doing, getting yourself involved with Zeke. If I were you, I'd keep away from him."  
  
Seraphin's dark eyebrow raised. "You think you can scare me?"  
  
Topaz smiled a little. "I'm not trying, I'm telling you the truth for your own good. Zeke is dangerous. He's part of something...different. Darker. You get involved with him, you could be putting yourself in danger."  
  
Seraphin snorted. "You're not scaring me at all. I think you're just jealous 'cause it's the first time you've wanted a guy who doesn't want you back!"  
  
Topaz controlled the urge to shift and rip her guts out then and there. Someone would notice if there was a wolf roaming around the halls. She sighed. "Your risking your life, here, and I'm not kidding. I guess I'm just going to have to show you what I mean."  
  
Seraphin sighed and jerked her arm a way, Topaz's words just brushing over her. "Get a life Topaz." And she walked off into the mainstream of students heading for class.  
  
Topaz was so angry she felt if she didn't get out of the girl's presence she would do something everyone would regret. She stormed out the school building, heading down the front steps ehe snatched up her phone and dialled the personal number for Trinity Harman-Redfern the Council leader. The most powerful half-breed in all the Night World, with powers of vampire and witch combined.   
  
"Is this important?" Trinity's voice was cold. Not friendly. She was not someone you wanted to see mad.   
  
"If it wasn't important, then why would I bother wasting your time?" Topaz snorted.   
  
Trinity sighed. "Hello Topaz, what is it this time? Who's bothering you now?"  
  
Topaz smiled a little. If she had a problem with someone, she made sure it was known. She had to admit she'd needed the council's assassins more than a few times.   
  
"I know someone who's broken the law."  
  
That got Trinity's attention. "Who? What law?"  
  
"The one about falling in love with a human. I like the guy, I just don't like the girl. I want him left alone, so I can have him, but I want her taken care of. Get me someone like Aurelia Wolf. She's mean. She'll call the little bitch some pain she won't forget."  
  
"I'm afraid Aurelia's unavailable. She's off on another assignment. But I'll get you Monica Stephens. She's just as good."  
  
Topaz was not impressed. "That sounds like a human name."  
  
Trinity laughed, a chilling sound. "It's meant to. That's how Mon does her work. She blends in with the human crowd. It's easier for her to hunt down her target."  
  
"I hope you're right. What is she?"  
  
"A shapeshifter. A rogue Drache."   
  
"She'd better be as good as you say she is."  
  
"She is, don't worry. Your problem will be solved within a few days."  
  
Topaz was smiling as she hung up. The Council had never let her down with their assassins, and she doubted they were going to this time.   
  
Well Seraphin, Topaz thought. You can't say I didn't warn you.   
  
* * *  
  
  
What is Topaz's problem? I can't understand why she doesn't just give up. Why can't she just accept that Zeke likes me more than her. And I still can't believe she threatened me!  
  
I shook my head annoyed as I sat through class, but I still found myself pondering what Topaz had said. Was Zeke really dangerous. No. No he couldn't be. Maybe he was a little moody sometimes, but...dangerous?   
  
How well did Topaz know Zeke? She had obviously known him longer than I had. Was she really concerned that Zeke might hurt me? Somehow, I doubted it. Topaz would probably be thrilled if something bad happened to me.   
  
If somehow, Zeke did hurt me, and my life really was in danger, I can just see her as the type to stand on my grave and laugh, saying, "I told you so!"  
  
I was confused, and upset. I decided not to mention any of this to Zeke. Or maybe I should. My lip curled if Zeke was really dangerous, then maybe I should tell him, and he'd be pissed, and turn his wrath on Topaz instead of me. That could be fun.   
  
I would much rather concentrate on the way Zeke had kissed me. It had been so wonderful. And that strange white light. What *was* that? I found it strange and fascinating, and I wanted to experience it again.  
  
But Zeke had been afraid. He obviously knew what it was, and wouldn't tell me. He wouldn't tell me a lot of things.   
  
I sat there in class, not really paying attention, since I was too busy trying to solve the unsolvable mystery that was Zeke Blackthorn.  
  
* * *  
  



	5. Part 5

"Class we have a new student with us."  
  
Topaz looked up from her text book to see an ordinary looking girl at the front of the class. She was only average height, dressed in a green top, jeans and sneakers, with long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, but something about her eyes caught Topaz's attention. They were just ordinary blue, but they reflected the overhead lights.   
  
This was Monica Stephens, the assassin the council had sent her. Topaz had never seen a Night Worlder who looked more human. The girl was pretty, but she didn't have the usual Night World stunning looks. It was supposedly what made her so good at her job.   
  
The teacher was smiling around nicely at the class. Topaz felt like punching her. She seemed to think every student was about three years old. Topaz herself was over three hundred. "This is Monica, she's joining us from Long Island. Are there any volunteers who'd like to show her the ropes?"  
  
Topaz put on a nice smile, and raised her hand.   
  
The teacher saw. "Thank you Topaz." The new girl came to sit by Topaz. When the teacher's back was turned and she went back to teaching the lesson, the new girl spoke.   
  
But the voice wasn't out loud, it was inside Topaz's head.   
  
~Topaz Wolf?~  
  
~That's me,~ Topaz said back, the same way. Sometimes it was so useful to be a Night Person.   
  
~Where are they?~ Monica was looking around the classroom.   
  
Topaz nodded to a back corner, where Zeke and Seraphin were sitting, they were unusually close, today. Topaz frowned. There were other Night People in the room besides herself and Monica, they must obviously see that Zeke was breaking the law. What the hell was wrong with him? He wasn't just putting his own life in danger, he was putting hers at risk too. Well, he'd soon learn his lesson about that.  
  
~That's them?~ Monica said.   
  
Topaz nodded.   
  
~Give it a day or two and she'll be out your way for good.~  
  
Topaz's lip curled. ~I think you and I are going to be good friends.~  
  
* * *  
  
  
Zeke frowned. Something was up. Topaz was never normally so friendly when a new human came into the picture. Or at least, to the unsuspecting eye, that was what it looked like.   
  
If the new girl really was just a human. But she wasn't. Zeke was well aware of the new girl was. This was Sakura Gunter, a deadly assassin, who used the pseudonym of Monica Stephens. She gave off a dumb human impression very well, and did her job swiftly, with no mercy.   
  
Zeke was well aware of his methods, since he'd used her - services - himself a few times. Topaz, he noticed seemed in a very good mood. He glanced over at Seraphin, who was actually paying attention to the lecture.   
  
And in that minute, he new what Topaz's plan was. The little bitch must have ratted them out the council. It was clear enough that Monica had been hired to kill them. But what wasn't clear, was who Monica intended to kill first. Just him? Just Seraphin, or both?  
  
And they would never know until Monica made her move. She could take up to two hours, or two weeks, depending on whether she planned on settling down here at school, which seemed unlikely.   
  
He looked up and caught Topaz staring at him. He gave her the finger, and she smiled, giving him a nice wave.   
  
~If I were you maybe I wouldn't want to piss me off right about now~ Topaz said inside his head. ~I see you recognise my new friend.~  
  
Seraphin turned then, seeing something was clearly going on. She looked a little puzzled. "What's going on?" she whispered.   
  
"Nothing," he muttered back. "I'll tell you later."  
  
If there was a later.   
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I was confused. Obviously both Zeke and Topaz recognised this new girl. Yet, I couldn't understand why. She seemed just like an ordinary person. Of course, everyone did. But...but something told me they were all a little more than ordinary.   
  
The minute the bell rang Zeke was on his feed, and grabbing my arm, "Come, let's go."  
  
I barely had time to get my books and my purse before he practically carried me out the room, as far away from Topaz and the new girl as he could get. "Is something wrong? And don't say no because I'll know you're lying."  
  
He sighed. Then his eyes met mine. "Stay as far away from Monica Stephens as you can, trust me, she's worse than Topaz."  
  
My dark eyebrows raised." She doesn't look dangerous."  
  
He laughed shortly. It was a cold sound that sent chills down my spine. I tried not to shudder. What was the matter with him today?   
  
"Don't cross her. Just trust me on that one."  
  
And that was all he said all lunch period. If I wasn't so confused, maybe even a little frightened, I would have found it flattering, the way he was so protective over me the rest of the day.   
  
"What are you doing this evening?" he asked as we walked down the steps when the day had ended. If he was going to ask me out on a real date he'd picked a really bad time.   
  
"I have to work tonight," I admitted.   
  
His eyes scanned the crowd of students, obviously looking for any signs of danger. Danger? Was I really in danger from these insane people? It sounded so unreal. We couldn't see Topaz, but we did see Harmony. She stood by her car, with her crowd of admirers and the new girl Monica, who seemed, if anything, a little shy. Monica looked up then, and her eyes met Zeke's. She smiled and waved, and he gave her the finger. I tried not to snicker. Monica looked insulted, and turned away.   
  
Zeke's arm slid around my shoulders as he led me away. He walked with me as I started home. "Where'd you work?"  
  
"A club called the Black Foxglove. A Goth club." Technically, you were supposed to be over twenty-one to work in a club or a bar, but the manager let me get away with it. Topaz was a fairytale princess compared to her. All the people that came into the club were slightly...weird. It wasn't just general weirdness, you had to be pretty weird to go to a place like the Black Foxglove. It was...something about them. The way they moved, they were all so graceful, their eyes...they reflected the strobe and flashing lights...some of them were scary...and more than once I saw some people looking at my neck.   
  
They frightened me sometimes, and more than once I felt some of them may be waiting for me when I left, follow me home...hurt me...but none of them ever did.   
  
Zeke didn't say anything more, and I couldn't tell what he was thinking. He walked me all the way home and didn't leave until I was safely inside the house.  
  
Safe from what?  
  
* * *  
  
  
That night I was taking the late shift, I didn't finish until three. Everyone else had already left except the manager, and I had no idea where she had gotten herself too. Normally she hung around all evening, but tonight, she had been absent. I hoped it wasn't something to worry about.  
  
I signed out, grabbed my jacket and purse and started walking home. The streets were dark and deserted. A full moon shone eerily in the midnight sky, millions of starts sprinkled all over, shining distantly like chips of ice.   
  
The windows of the houses I past were all dark. Sensible people were asleep at three A.M, and I had a test first lesson too, and I hadn't studied. Damn. I was too tired to be bothered to think about it now.  
  
I was half way home when I realised someone was pacing me. At first I thought it was just my imagination, but then, I heard noises. Footsteps. Slow, measured, certain.   
  
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Monica Stephens on the other side of the street, a little distance behind me. She looked up and saw me, and smiled. I managed a weak smile back, and walked on, hurrying my pace. Her pace hurried too.  
  
If she was trying to scare me, she was doing one hell of a good job. I could feel the cold, acrid sweat of fear beginning to bead on my forehead. And the next thing I knew, I was running. Behind me, Monica laughed. The sound was cruel and cold, and at that moment I knew I was running for my life.   
  
I glanced back one to see Monica wasn't Monica anymore. In Monica's place, soft white fur almost gleaming in the moonlight, was a white tiger. It chased me, and sent me flying at a speed I didn't know I could run.   
  
All I could think of was getting to Zeke, I knew the apartment building he lived in was somewhere near. I saw it and ran to the steps, pressing the buzzer furiously. The tiger was still behind me, coming up and slowly, it was going to win, and it knew.   
  
As I reached the top step of the building, it leaped, swiping at me. The claws tore into the back of my legs, and I screamed in agony, as I felt the blood pouring out. My screams seemed useless. Why wasn't someone coming to help me? There was a fucking tiger attacking me! I was going to die right here, right now, being pulled apart by an inhuman beast...  
  
I tugged on the door to the apartment building, it seemed pointless, but maybe my efforts weren't in vain after all, because the next time I tried to open the door, it opened, and I fell inside, shutting the tiger out.   
  
"Seraphin?" Zeke was running down the stairs, and I collapsed into his arms, sobbing hysterically.   
  
I don't remember much after that, I think I passed out.   
  
* * *  
  
When I woke, I was lying in a bed that wasn't my own, and bright sunlight hit my face. I winced, and rolled over.   
  
"Sorry 'bout that, hang on." I blinked and watched Zeke close the curtains. He was still dressed in the same clothes as yesterday, and I guessed it must be his bed I was in. "How do you feel?"  
  
I groaned. My head felt thick and numb, and my mind was a blur. "I can't tell yet," I managed, trying a weak smile. Pain. There was a lot of pain in my legs. I lifted the bed covers and looked under. My legs were covered in white bandages.   
  
And then the memory came flooding back. Monica, Not Monica, but a tiger attacking me.   
  
"Monica attacked me!"  
  
"I should have known," Zeke said angrily. "I shouldn't have left you alone, I should have gone with you..."  
  
I finally lost patience. "Zeke I want to know what the hell is going on here. I was nearly *killed* last night by a girl who wasn't a girl but a large fucking white tiger that tired to rip my legs out their sockets. Tell me what's going on."  
  
Zeke turned to look at me, sighing heavily. He sighed again, and sat down on the bed. "It's called the Night World..."  
  
* * *  
  



	6. Part 6

I suppose I should have yelled that he was out of his mind. I just sat there, staring blankly ahead. A whole society of vampires, witches and shapeshifters, walking amongst regular people, and never knowing until it was too late that they were there.  
  
I should have been horrified, terrified or disgusted. But I wasn't. To tell the truth, I was fascinated. All that power, being there, all along...it intrigued me.   
  
"You think I'm crazy," Zeke said fatly. "You don't believe me."  
  
I laughed shortly. "I believe you, all right. It's not every day you see someone shift from human to tiger. You don't get tigers in Denver."  
  
Zeke moved from where he was standing, looking out the window. He came to sit on the bed, and met my eyes directly. For a long time, he just seemed to look at me, his only movements reaching out to smooth back a lock of my hair, which was plastered to my forehead. I reached up to touch his hand, and there was...  
  
I wasn't sure what it was. It was silvery and shimmery and linking our fingers together, wrapping a shining silver line around them. I knew Zeke could see it as clearly as I could. I looked over at him. Something like this had happened when he'd first kissed me.   
  
And then he kissed me again. The white light began to shine again, engulfing our minds. But this time, he didn't pull away. He let me see, let me see him for who he really was. I knew he had done some bad things, but that didn't really bother me. I could see the darkness of the Night World etched into his memories. He was so powerful...  
  
And I wanted to be like that. I wanted to be like him, to be strong and perfect and be able to read minds and live forever...  
  
When he pulled back, he was smiling. "You know what?" he said. " I love you."  
  
I smiled. I couldn't help it. I wrapped my arms around him and leaned against him. "I love you, too." I lifted my head and looked at him. "What is that? The lighty thing?"  
  
"It's called the Soulmate Principle. It's the idea that there's one and only one true love for everyone on earth and when you find that person, you know them and you know you were meant to be together."   
  
"When I first saw you, all I could think was how you were going to change my life." And he had certainly done that. My eyes met his. "I want to be like you."  
  
He stared at me, stunned, as if not sure what he thought he heard me say. "Seraphin you don't know what you're asking for."  
  
"No, I know. I do know. If we're the only person who can make the other happy then don't you think we should be together, forever?" I was desperate. I wanted so badly to be part of this new world. There was so much we could accomplish together, if only he'd give me the chance.   
  
He sighed and closed his eyes. "I...its against the law..."  
  
My head tilted. "Isn't telling me against the law too? And being in love with me? You might as well go the whole way."  
  
He opened his eyes and looked at me. "You really want to be a vampire."  
  
"Yes," I said impatiently. "I really want to be a vampire."  
  
He sighed. "Why do I know I'm going to regret this? All right, all right, you win."  
  
I smiled again. "You're easy."  
  
"I know. I'm an idiot."  
  
"Uh...and we do this like in the movies? You're gonna drink my blood?"  
  
He smiled a little. "Yeah, I'm gonna drink your blood, and you're gonna drink mine."  
  
I wasn't sure what to think about that. But I had asked for it, and it was going to happen.   
  
"This is going to take a while," he admitted. "You generally can't change someone with one exchange of blood. It takes at least three, and in that time we're gonna have to figure out a way to fake your death and get you away from here."  
  
I hadn't been prepared for that. I thought about my life. What was I really giving up here? It wasn't like there were any friends who would miss me. It wasn't like I was a great student. I hated studying. I hated living at home with snotty parents who really couldn't give a damn about me. It wasn't like anyone was really going to miss me. It seemed as if I might as well be dead.   
  
"All right, go ahead."  
  
This was it. I was stepping over the threshold of reality into something much, much better. At least, I hoped it would be, and I wasn't doing all this for nothing.   
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The whole change took over a week. It was...well, it wasn't like in the movies. It was, to tell the truth, the worst week I'd ever spent. I was sick, and miserable and could barely move. The only good thing was the blood exchange itself, the wonderful tasting, magic liquid cascading down my throat, always made me feel better, and the feeling of Zeke taking mine. The soulmate link between us made it all the more wonderful, trying to make our minds as one, merging us together. I knew him like I'd never known anyone else.  
  
It was all worth it. I'd never been happier in my life. I admired my reflection in the full-length mirror. I'd moved in with Zeke now, and we'd successfully managed to fake my death. He'd dug me out my grave about two hours ago, and I'd just fed for the first time. The thrill of the hunt and kill was amazing, and something I hoped I could do again and again.   
  
My skin, pale before, was now almost as white as marble, and as smooth. My eyes were a brilliant colour, a dazzling midnight blue I'd never seen before, and when my fangs grew, they turned silvery and shiny. My teeth glimmered like pearls. My hair was raven black, like Topaz's. I'd changed the streaks to silver. My nails looked better too, longer and sharper, now painted black. I wore a black silk corset and a long swirling black skirt, pattered with a twisted design, and high black leather boots with a heel that tapped on the floor when I walked. I looked better than I could ever remember.   
  
"You read?" Zeke stuck his head round the door. The look in his eyes told me all I needed to know about how good I looked.   
  
I nodded, and we left. Tonight he was taking me to a party at a club called the Black Iris, a chain of Night World clubs. I was really getting the hang of fitting in here, and I was still awed and fascinated.   
  
"Remember," Zeke said before we went in. "You can't act like you've just stepped into your dream world. You've always been a Night Person, you're used to this."   
  
I snuggled closer to him and nodded. I kept a cool look on my face as we headed inside. Inside was all heavy metal music, throbs of drums, beats of keyboards, and singers screaming incomprehensively at the microphone, the strobe lights flashed all around the dance floor. Around the upper level of the club, it was dark and twisting shadows. The people were like they were in the Black Foxglove, which I'd learned was another Night World club.   
  
It was really true, all these people were everywhere. It made me wonder what else was out there.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Harmony Silverthorne couldn't believe her eyes. Zeke was really walking a line here. What was he doing with that Seraphin girl? Topaz couldn't seem to let it go, and her obsessions with it were driving her mad. But Seraphin was a human! What was she doing here, mixing with some of the most powerful Night People? Plus, it was Blaine Silverthorne, her cousin. Aurelia was going to be pissed about this.   
  
Spying Zeke just coming from the bar she grabbed his arm and yanked him into a dark corner. "What do you think you're doing?" she hissed.  
  
He looked down at the two drinks in his hands. "What does it look like?"  
  
Harmony was annoyed. "That's not what I mean," she snapped. She pointed over to Seraphin. "What's *she* doing here?"  
  
Zeke looked over, his face darkening seeing Blaine flirting with Seraphin. "It's none of your business," he snapped.  
  
Harmony smiled sweetly. "What would happen to her if Blaine discovers she's human?"  
  
Zeke gave her a smirk of his own. "He can't do a damn thing. She's not human. She's a vampire." He laughed at the look on Harmony's face. "God I wish I had a camera. The look on your face is priceless."  
  
Harmony didn't say anything as he left, and practically dragged Seraphin away from Blaine. There was something off about all of this. As a vampire herself, Harmony could instantly tell another of her own kind. And there had been nothing about Seraphin that said she belonged to Night World. Night People had certain...signals about them, that let another one now you were there. Seraphin had none of these.  
  
Getting closer, now it was obvious she had them. She was right out there, telling she was a made vampire. Harmony felt her lip curve. An illegally made vampire at that. She made er way through the mass of wild people to where Topaz and Monica were scowling at Seraphin and Zeke.   
  
"Guess who's been a bad boy?"  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
So far, I was doing okay. I seemed to be making a pretty big splash amongst these people. Some of them seemed to really like me. The way they all seemed to keep asking rather personal questions bothered me, and it took me a few minutes to keep coming up with answers.   
  
I found Zeke on the dance floor, a girl with blue hair trying to flirt. I wrapped my arms around his waist and whispered in his ear, "I think it's time we were going."  
  
He looked a little disappointed, and sighed heavily. "Yeah, okay." I turned to glare at the blue haired girl, and she actually shuddered and stepped back, making me feel really good as we left. Nobody had ever reacted like that to my glares before.   
  
It was late and the area the club was in was dark and seemingly deserted. This time, I wasn't afraid, though. Zeke was with me, and he wouldn't let anything happen to me.   
  
"You two have been bad." Topaz's voice rang out of the darkness. It sounded eerie in the silence. More eerie by the fact that I couldn't see her.   
  
"Shit," Zeke muttered. "We're in for it now." His face was cold and unreadable. And then I saw why. We were surrounded by dark figures, lead by Monica and Topaz.   
  
~Run,~ Zeke said in my mind. ~Run and don't look back.~  
  
~I'm not leaving you,~ I snapped.   
  
~This isn't a game,~ he said angrily. ~ Go.~  
  
~I'm not going anywhere, we might as well take that for given.~   
  
He sighed and rolled his eyes. The people around us were making no moves. It seemed they were just standing there like black statues. The minute one of us made a wrong move, they'd end us.   
  
"Give yourselves in and no one gets hurt," Monica said. She seemed so normal compared to the rest of them. But what did normal have to do with anything?   
  
"Not a chance," I said stubbornly. She'd hurt me once, and wasn't going to again.   
  
Topaz made a gesture, and the black figures began to move. And before I knew what I was doing, I was running. I was just doing what I was told. I couldn't help it. Something was compelling me to move away. I didn't know what it was, it was more than fear, it kept me going.   
  
But no matter how fast I seemed to run, there were always people behind me. I turned a corner and came up short. Topaz was standing directly in front of me.   
  
"Going somewhere?" Her smile was cruel, her voice cold.   
  
I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Something struck me, a blinding flash of mental energy struck me, and I passed out.   
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Monica joined Topaz, looking over at the crumpled body on the sidewalk. "Do you want to kill her now?"  
  
Topaz's head tilted. She had been all prepared to kill the little bitch, but then, another thought had struck her. She was an illegally made vampire. If they took her to Trinity and the Council, then the Council may pay them for upholding the law.   
  
"I have other plans for her."  
  
* * *  
  
  



	7. Part 7

I groaned. Something hurt. Then I realised what. Everything. And I was cold. Freezing. I thought vampires didn't have to deal with body temperature. If that was true, then why the hell was I so cold?   
  
I opened my eyes, and found myself in some sort of stone cell. There were bars on a window high in the wall, and also on the window in the heavy wooden door. Pushing myself to my feet, I tugged on the handle. Locked. Of course it was.   
  
There was a small bench cut into the stone of the wall, and one light-bulb hanging from the ceiling glowing faintly. What was happening? Where was I? Why wasn't Zeke coming to save me? Was he even alive?  
  
I pounded on the door. "Come on, someone let me out of here! This isn't funny!" I shouted. Yelling like this was probably not going anywhere, but I had to try. I didn't know what else I could do.   
  
"It is funny, you should see your face."   
  
At the sound of Topaz's voice on the other side of the door, I shut up. It was because of her I was in here. Keys rattled and the door unlocked. Topaz stood there smiling. I was about to jump on her and rip her throat out I saw two huge black clad bodyguards behind her, both with some sort of crossbows loaded with sharpened wooden stakes.   
  
I controlled my fury and remained where I was. "What's going on?"  
  
"Come with me and you'll see."  
  
I had never hated a person more than I hated her. She was playing with my mind, and she could do anything and I could do nothing. It made me so angry, and if I wasn't terrified of being staked, then I would have killed her before now.   
  
But this was her turf and not mine. I didn't know what was happening and she did.   
She led me up some stairs and into a hallway, up another flight of stairs to two huge wooden double doors. She knocked once, and went inside.   
  
Inside it seemed like some sort of office. There was a huge picture window with a view of some city I didn't recognise. It was night time, the sky was black and starless, city lights winkled. There was a huge wooden desk, a mahogany sideboard with a crystal decanter and some bottles of drinks I didn't recognise, along with some crystal glasses.   
  
The woman in the chair behind the desk was stunning. Her hair was raven black, her skin milky pale. Her eyes shifted colour from moment to moment. She wore a black business suit. Her dark lips weren't smiling, they were scowling. Obviously this woman was someone very important amongst the Night World, and I decided it was probably better for me to keep my mouth shut and not yell about why I was here, and what was going on.   
  
"You're illegally made," the woman said bluntly. "And that's against the law. We have very strict laws here and they must be followed. You broke them, you'll be punished. As soon as we find your boyfriend, we'll punish him too."  
  
I wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to say here. Everything said was true. There didn't seem to be any point in denying it. I stared sullenly.   
  
"Well." The woman smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile of forgiveness. Obviously Night People weren't very forgiving. And I dreaded to think what my "punishment" would be. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be pleasant. "At least you have the sense not to talk back. Now...the punishment..."  
  
"Torture?" Topaz offered.   
  
I fought the urge to turn around and glare. But my insides were shaking. I didn't want to be tortured. But from the way the woman's face lit up, I could see that what I wanted didn't matter in the least.   
  
~Zeke where are you?~ I thought desperately. ~Why aren't you coming to save me?~  
  
"What a *good* idea."  
  
"Do I get to play?" Topaz asked, sounding like a child presented with a new toy.   
  
The woman's head tilted. "Let someone else have fun for once. You did your job. Now finish it by bringing me the other one."  
  
Topaz looked a little disappointed. "Spoil my fun," she muttered, sounding disappointed. She turned away and left. The black haired woman gestured vaguely, and one of the bodyguards poked me with the stake, moving me back the way I'd come.   
  
All I could think was I didn't want to go.   
* * *  
  
  
Zeke groaned. Something wasn't right. Why was he so cold? Vampires didn't feel the cold. But this wasn't a physical feeling. It was something else. Something inside him. Something...something bad had happened.   
  
"Seraphin?" he muttered. Where was she? She should be running to see if he was alright. But she wasn't. He couldn't sense her presence or her mind at all. Maybe she was unconscious. "I'm gonna kill you Topaz," he muttered, trying to focus.   
  
When he did he found himself in some sort of small room. There was the bed he was lying in, and moonlight streaming through the open window. He heard a door open at groaned.  
  
"Hey, you're up. At least you're not dead." The speaker was a small girl with a froth of strawberry blonde curls. A witch. But that was al he could tell about her.   
  
"Who're you?" Blunt, and to the point. "What the hell is going on here?"  
  
The girl frowned and hesitated for a minute. "Hang on a sec and I'll go get the Boss." She went out into the hall. "Hey Keller!" he heard her yell. "Get your ass up here!"  
  
"If I didn't like you you'd have been fired by now," another female voice said. Female? The Boss was a girl? She came into the room then. She was tall, black hair cascading around her, dark eyes shining. She wore a sleek black jumpsuit and small boots. She wasn't smiling all that much.   
  
Someone else was poking their head around to see what was going on. Another girl. Small and delicate, with shimmery fine hair, and violet eyes. Another witch. Violet eyes and pale gold hair were Harman traits. So he was surrounded by gorgeous girls. If he didn't already have his soulmate, and if the situation wasn't so serious, he'd be thinking, great! I can have fun here!  
  
"Who are all you people?" he demanded.   
  
"We're the people who saved your butt," the dark haired girl said. "Though, why, it continue to allude me."  
  
He was confused. Then he realised why. "You're Circle Daybreak," he guessed. Damn. Of all the people who could have saved him...but maybe it wasn't so bad. "Where's Seraphin?"  
  
The delicate blonde was confused. "Who?"  
  
They were all looking at him, and he decided he really had no choice. He sighed. "My soulmate. She's an illegally made vampire."  
  
The dark haired girl didn't blink. "Iliana go back downstairs," she said, glancing over at the delicate blonde. "Don't argue with me."  
  
"You're acting like I'm useless again," Iliana complained. "I can do something! I'm a Wild Power!"  
  
Zeke could feel his eyebrows raise. Her? The girl was pretty, but way to delicate and dumb-looking to be a Wild Power. He'd heard the prophecies, as everyone had. But personally, he thought they weren't going to happen. Now, in the presence of a Wild Power, he was starting to think differently.   
  
Iliana had stormed off now, silky hair flying, the glare she gave, now very scary. The strawberry-blonde nudged the dark haired girl with her elbow. The tall girl just looked at her. "What?" The strawberry-blonde rolled her eyes and shook her head.   
  
"How about letting me in on what's happening here?" Zeke said again, trying not to lose his temper.   
  
"We came across you last night, being attacked by a hoard of Night Worlders, you were obviously out numbered, and Winnie here," nodding to the other girl, "insisted we come and help out. There was no one else with you when we found you. We did our homework, and we can see you're not a very nice boy."  
  
Zeke frowned. So these girls had no idea what had happened to Seraphin. "Do either of you guys have a cell phone?" Was there anybody who didn't have one these days?  
  
Winnie pulled out hers and handed it to him. He took it and dialled Topaz's number. "Answer you bitch," he muttered.   
  
She did. "Yes?" her voice was curt. Obviously she didn't recognise the number.   
  
"Where is she?" he demanded. "What have you done with her?"  
  
"Oh, it's you," she didn't sound too impressed. "What do you want? As if I didn't know."  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
"Vegas. The Council weren't very happy to see that you'd been naughty. They're looking for you, you know."   
  
Of course they would be. "Why are so happy to tell me all this?"  
  
"Because she'll be dead within the next twenty-four hours. Trinity's really having fun torturing her." He could almost see Topaz smiling. "'Bye now."  
  
"It's not good news," Winnie guessed as she took her phone back.   
  
"You think?" he snapped.  
  
He shook his head, knowing the shock was plain on his face. He didn't bother to hide it. How was he going to get to Vegas and rescue her within 24 hours?   
  
"Well?" The dark haired girl asked.   
  
"Trinity Harman-Redfern is torturing my soulmate and is going to kill her in twenty four hours for breaking the law."  
  
He saw them exchanged glances. Obviously they recognised the name. Who didn't? He realised there was no choice here. He couldn't find her alone. He was going to have to swallow his pride. Finally, he turned to the dark haired girl. "Look - uh - "   
  
"Keller," she said finally.   
  
He hesitated a moment. He closed his eyes and looked heavenwards. "I can't believe I'm going to do this." He opened them and looked at Keller again. "I need your help. I don't want Seraphin to die."   
  
Keller and Winnie exchanged glances again. Keller was frowning. Zeke waited. They had to say yes. They were damned Daybreakers. They helped anybody who needed their help. Or they were supposed to.   
  
Keller left the room. Zeke didn't say anything, just paced up and down. Finally Winnie said, "Will you sit down for a minute? You're making me sea-sick, and we're nowhere near the sea."  
  
"If your soulmate was about to die you'd be pacing too," he snapped, but he sat down. About ten minutes later Keller came back.   
  
"All right, all right," she said. She didn't sound to happy. "Thierry says we have to save her. We have to go into the Council's head-quarters and get her out."  
  
"Nissa!" Winnie yelled. "We've got an assignment!"  
  
A fourth girl came in, tall with minx coloured hair and eyes. "What?" she asked. Keller explained the situation again. Impatient, Zeke stood. "What are we waiting for?"  
  
"You're not going anywhere," Keller said sharply, meeting his eyes directly.   
  
"*What?*" His hearing was working, right?   
  
"Thierry's orders," Keller said. "You stay here with Iliana and Galen. Someone'll come later and take you back to Daybreak head-quarters, also in Vegas, and when we find your girl, we'll take her back there."   
  
"Fuck that, I'm going," he snapped. "She's my *soulmate*. What if you screw it up?"  
  
"We don't screw up!" Winnie said, offended. "We're the best."  
  
Zeke looked around them, finding it hard to believe. He was picking up vampire signals from Nissa. And Keller was a 'shifter clan name. A vampire, witch and shapeshifter? At least they weren't human.   
  
"Look," Nissa said finally. "If you go, we rescue her, you guys'll be all mushy and smoochy, and cost us valuable time which we could be using to escape. If just the three of us go, then we won't be mushy and smoochy and we'll get her out much faster. Okay?"  
  
"No," Zeke muttered. "Not okay at all. But I don't get a choice, do I?" He glared at Keller.   
  
"You want to get your soulmate back? You do what we say. Got it?"  
  
He scowled. He hated being told what to do. Especially by girls. Sometimes, it could be fun, but this wasn't one of those times.   
  
"I hope you know what you're doing," he said sullenly.  
  
"Of course we do," Winnie said, waving dismissively. "Don't worry."  
  
Don't worry? Were they kidding?   
* * *  
  
  



	8. Part 8

Pain. All I seemed to be able to think about. Even closing my eyes to block out the sight, I saw red behind my closed eyes. Agony screamed around inside me, making me feel so helpless and so stupid. My screams were useless. All they did was made the bad guys laugh. The chains around my wrists and ankles rattled and clinked together as I struggled uselessly.   
  
"I'm bored now."  
  
I opened my eyes. Trinity, the bitch who'd been sticking pointy pieces of wood in me for the last three hours, seemed to have tired of the game now. She twirled the sharp wooden stick in her fingers, as if debating what to do with it. She jammed it into my left breast. I bit my lip on the scream building up. Why give them the satisfaction.   
  
Trinity's head tilted. "I should probably kill you now. Any last words?"  
  
I took my time over this, or made it look like I was trying to think of something deep and meaningful. "How bout you're a heartless bitch and you belong in the wastelands of hell?"   
  
Trinity shrugged. "I've been called worse." She moved over to a small silver table, the kind room service in hotels used. Instead of trays of nicely cooked food, there were sticks of wood, all sizes, some sharpened, some broken off and splintered. Also, needles filled with silver nitrate. Vampire torture instruments.   
  
Her hand hovered over them, as if trying to be really careful about what she used to kill me. I felt like spitting in her face. But I didn't. The first time I had done that, was what had started her off, sticking those things into my flesh.   
  
Blood stained my skirt; my black corset had been ripped off and was ruined. My skin had changed from marble to a darker stained red, bright red in parts where the blood still flowed.   
  
There was a knock on the heavy wooden door of the basement prison I was chained up in. One of Trinity's guards stuck their head round. "We've got problems. Some damned Daybreakers are absolutely insisting on talking to you."  
  
"Kill them," Trinity said without looking up, a nail pressed to her mouth, as if it were really hard to decide what to kill me with.   
  
"It's Hannah Snow, Jez Redfern and Delos Redfern."  
  
That got Trinity's attention. "The leader and the Wild Powers? Ooh, fun!"  
  
I wasn't sure what she meant by that, and I shuddered to think as she hurried up the stairs, the guard followed. Neither of them locked the door, but it didn't seem necessary since I couldn't go anywhere, and the keys were on a hook beside the door, way out of my reach.   
  
My head fell back against the brick wall. I could feel tears coursing down my cheeks. Part of me was silently wishing for death, I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take. Part of me was silently screaming for help. I wasn't screaming out loud because it seemed pointless.   
  
Why wasn't someone coming? In the movies someone always came to save the person in peril? What had happened to Zeke? I didn't even know if he was dead or alive. Did he know where I was? Was he looking for me? I damn well hoped he was if he was alive!   
  
"Someone get me out of here," I whispered.   
  
As if in answer to my prayer, three people did a lousy job of sneaking subtly into the room just then. I could instantly tell they weren't here to hurt me, I didn't know why. The leader of the three girls was tall, and dressed in black, dark haired, like Trinity. But there was a - nobility - about her that Trinity lacked. She was just a bitch.   
  
"Sometimes bad guys can be such idiots," a girl with mix coloured hair and eyes said with disgust, taking the keys.   
  
"Uh - who are you people?" I asked finally.   
  
A short girl with bouncy strawberry blond hair smiled. "Don't worry, we're the good guys."  
  
"I kind of figured that. How did you get down here?"  
The girl grinned. "The bad guys love to brag about it when they get to kill someone for breaking the law. We have our sources that tell us where they keep their prisoners."   
  
"Plus, we have a few distractions up front," the tall girl said gesturing vaguely, with a grim smile.   
  
They undid my chains, and the strawberry blonde gave me her jacket, which I was quite happy to slip into to cover the fact that I had no top on. They helped me up the stairs and back down a dark tunnel, leading to a white limo waiting. I heard yelling and swearing. I could see flashes of something blue and sizzling and figures in black running. It seemed there was a fight going on.   
  
They pulled me into their limo, the minx coloured girl getting in the driver's seat. "Nissa drive," the black haired girl said.   
  
"By the way, I'm Winnie and that's Keller," the strawberry blonde said. I managed a faint smile. My head was starting to swim. I felt like I was going to pass out. The limo screeched off into the centre of the fight, stopping briefly as three more people jumped in. All I heard was a few names, but after that I didn't hear anything, or see anything, or feel.   
  
And I was grateful.  
  
* * *  
  
  
I felt something trickling down my throat. Sweet and salty at the same time, with certain qualities I'd never be able to describe. Life giving and rich and wonderful, my eyes opened and my mouth fixed on the wrist the blood was coming from. This was one of the things blood was good for.   
  
It wasn't until I'd taken my fill that I realised who the blood belonged to. A smiling face met mine, and dark murky green eyes, shining dimly. Long stringy dark hair framing the handsome face and wonderful lips I just couldn't stop kissing.   
  
The link of the soulmate connection made it all the more wonderful and magical as spars flew, and the hypnotic white light suffused around our minds, linking us, merging our minds like drops of water running together.   
  
Zeke pulled back, slightly breathless, weird for vampires, since we don't have breath. "How do you feel?" His fingers ran through my hair, stroking gently as he spoke.   
  
I smiled. "I feel much better now." I sat up, finding myself in a comfortable bed in a large richly decorated room. "Where are we?"  
  
He looked a little embarrassed and almost ashamed. "Daybreak Headquarters."  
  
Why was that so bad? He'd explained to be about the three Circles, Midnight, Twilight and Daybreak, and what was going on in the Night World at the moment about the prophecies about the end of the world, and for once, it seemed like the good guys were wining so far. And if that were true, then maybe it didn't seem like being here was such a bad idea.   
  
"Oh." I slid out the bed and headed over to a door I assumed was the bathroom, and to my luck, it was. The main doors to the room were large and double. This door was single. To my luck, it was.  
  
I took a long hot shower feeling better and better. And I felt really good as I went downstairs. The Dark side of life had always seemed so enticing to me. It still was, but now I was aware of the dangers as well. I wasn't exactly going to suddenly revert to bright and shiny, I could still sort of blend in with the not-so-dark bits.   
  
But how was I going to do that? I didn't have everything worked out yet, but I had eternity to do it, and I had my soulmate to do it with. And of course, there were two definitions of "do it" to think about too.   
  
I headed downstairs to a cosy living room full of people and soft music and lightning. I could see the team who had rescued me there, and also the three people who had dived into the car at the last minute.   
  
Zeke was there, looking a little uncomfortable. I joined him, snuggling close to him in the large armchair he sat in, and the frown disappeared from his face instantly.   
  
"So what are you two going to do now?" Hannah asked after everyone had been introduced.   
  
Zeke shrugged. "It's up to you Seraphin," he said.   
  
I'd been thinking about this a lot lately. There was a whole world out there for us to explore. It wasn't *all* bad, and not all good either. I was confused. "I don't know," I admitted finally. It seemed there were endless possibilities.   
  
"You can stay as long as you like," Hannah offered. "We're always looking for new recruits."  
  
My dark eyebrows raised a little, and I met Zeke's eyes and knew he was thinking the same thing. We weren't exactly daybreak material.   
  
"We're not really..." I trailed off, gesturing vaguely, not sure how to say what I meant.   
  
"Don't worry about it," Jez, the Wild Power said dismissively. Her eyes met mine, and I realised, looking over at her and her soulmate Morgead, they were maybe a little like Zeke and myself. Happy to help out, but still wild at heart.   
  
"It's not like you have to change completely just to think you please everyone," Thea said.   
"Maybe we'll just sort of be - like on retainer or something," I suggested. "There's still things I need to learn about."  
  
"It's your decision." Hannah sounded a little disappointed. But her expression said she knew she couldn't win them all.   
  
"We should go now," Zeke said, standing up and pulling me to my feet. We said goodbye to the Daybreakers, knowing they would contact us if they needed us. They seemed to have plenty going on, and I wasn't ready to be tied down with all the responsibility they had yet.   
  
Zeke was smiling a little. "What?" I asked suspiciously.   
  
He grinned. "Come see."  
  
He pulled me out front to the mansion's driveway, where a shiny black classic motorcycle. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say. "You bought a bike?"  
  
"I wanted to get something...different. This was Morgead's idea, he said they were more fun than fast cars."  
  
I studied it. I'd never been on a motorbike before. Maybe one of the things I had to learn to get used to. "How long was I out?"  
  
"Two days, in and out," he said. I didn't say anything. I refused to think about it, it was over now. Why look back when you could look forward?  
  
Zeke pulled out keys and climbed on. He looked at me. Something about him seemed incredibly sexy just then, sitting on that classically designed black bike, dressed in dark clothing, profiled against the moonlight. "You coming or what?"  
  
I hesitated a moment, before hopping on the back and wrapping my arms around his waste. He took off then. The wind slamming against my face, blowing my hair back like a pennant. The feeling was wonderful, electric.  
  
I had never been happier. The night twinkled around us, dark and beautiful, reminding me of how I was...a new respect for the good guys, but still wild at heart underneath.   
  
  
The End.   
  



End file.
